Two year's after Dabo's 'BYOG' salute, it's go time for Kizer

Monday

Nov 27, 2017 at 8:14 PM

It's the two-year anniversary of the best of times for DeShone Kizer, when his last-minute magic had Notre Dame on the cusp of the national-championship tournament. Kizer's best Browns game yet offers at least a sliver of hope for a revival.

Steve Doerschuk CantonRep.com sports writer @sdoerschukREP

BEREA The best of times for DeShone Kizer reached a crescendo two years ago, on Nov. 28, 2015, slamming into reverse within seconds.

Kizer seemed to have landed the knockout punch in a fierce duel against Kevin Hogan. The 19-year-old Notre Dame quarterback scored on a 2-yard run with 30 seconds left to give the No. 4 Fighting Irish a 36-35 lead at No. 13 Stanford.

A euphoric Kizer ran off the field with 234 passing yards and 128 rushing yards to his credit, seeming to have propelled his team into the national championship tournament.

Hogan somehow raced Stanford to a field goal and a 38-36 victory.

"We truly thought we were one of the best teams in the country," Kizer said afterward. "The goal was to make the playoffs. We know that opportunity has kind of fallen away."

The loss dropped Kizer's record as Notre Dame's starter to 9-2. He had worked some fourth-quarter road magic in the other loss, too.

On Oct. 3 at Clemson, Deshaun Watson had left him behind, heading into the fourth quarter with a 21-3 lead. Then Kizer threw a 56-yard touchdown pass. Then he led two touchdown drives, the latter narrowing a Clemson lead to 26-24 with seven seconds left.

The 2-point conversion try was a Kizer keeper. Clemson defensive tackle Carlos Watkins met him near the goal line.

"Tonight it was BYOG … bring your own guts," Dabo Swinney said. "They brought heart and guts and never quit until the last play."

Notre Dame's next big plays came Nov. 28 at Stanford. Hogan made the last of them, prompting Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly to lament:

"We're two plays away from being undefeated and No. 1 in the country. One play at Clemson, and one play here at Stanford."

The Monday after Kizer's latest loss with the Browns marked the two-year anniversary of the Hogan encounter.

Coming close looks different now. Coming close Sunday was almost getting the ball back with less than five minutes left, trailing the Bengals by a touchdown, only to have a controversial penalty against Jabrill Peppers set up a two-touchdown Bengals lead.

Kizer has had a fitful 24 months. It started with the punch in the gut at Stanford, followed by a bowl loss to Ohio State on Jan. 1, 2016.

Then the Fighting Irish disappeared. One year and two days ago, Notre Dame's final record came in at 4-8 with a 45-27 loss to Sam Darnold and the USC Trojans.

Now Kizer is 0-10 as the starter on an 0-11 Browns team.

Beginning with with the loss at Stanford, Kizer's record is 4-20. Darnold is back in his life, in the discussion of quarterbacks the Browns might draft at No. 1 overall.

The best of times seem a moonshot away for a Browns team in a 4-44 slump. Kizer's prospects for his first NFL win are dim heading into a road duel with the accomplished Philip Rivers, who directed a blowout victory at Dallas on Thanksgiving Day.

Yet, Kizer won some praise at Cincinnati. He threw a lovely deep pass to Corey Coleman in the end zone. Even though Coleman dropped it, Kizer completed 58 percent of his passes, up from his season standard of 52.5.

His 268 yards was a season high (it had been 242 at Indianapolis on Sep. 24). His career-best 86.5 passer rating was a big bump up from his season mark of 54.0.

The young QB and head coach Hue Jackson both talk in terms of Kizer starting beyond 2016.

"This is a war that we're in right now," Kizer said. "Once we get over that hill, we're going to win for a long time."

If Kizer makes it through the season, he will have started as many games (15) as any rookie quarterback in Browns history. He would tie former No. 22 overall pick Brandon Weeden (5-10 as the starter in 2012).

Weeden and his coaches and the people who drafted him were gone by 2014. Kizer, drafted 30 spots later than Weeden by a franchise whose foundation remains cracked, has to wonder about what's out there beyond December.

"There's another level there for him," Jackson said as he pointed Kizer toward the game against the Chargers. "We've got to get him there these next five weeks … but I thought he played better."

Between the lines of the remarks of a coach enduring his own worst of times is the clearest of messages.

Here comes the fourth quarter. It's go time for the kid.

Reach Steve at 330-580-8347 or steve.doerschuk@cantonrep.com

On Twitter: @sdoerschukREP

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